This application is a divisional of and claims benefit from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/075,475, filed Mar. 9, 2005 now U.S Pat. No. 7,168,343.
This invention relates to those connections in building structures in which wood or steel frame held embedded structures are connected to a holding structure such as a concrete foundation by means of a threaded end steel anchor bolt or rod or another steel or wood structure. In these connections, a nut is threadably attached to the distal end of the anchor bolt or rod. The nut engages a washer or holdown which in turn is connected to a wood or steel building structural frame member.
More specifically, the invention relates to building connections in which there is a dimensional restriction which limits the access of standard tools to install and maintain a specified torque force on the threaded nut. The outer face of the nut may be too close to either the holdown member or the side wall of the structure being held. There also may be insufficient space above the end of the threaded anchor member for a standard tool to gain access to the nut.
Access to threaded nuts which are difficult to access and turn due to dimensional restrictions have spawned a host of special tools to rotate the nuts. Special tools of varying complexity have been devised to tighten nuts in dimensionally restricted applications, but most are inadequate to cope with situations where there is an extreme restriction of less than about a 1/16th inch gap between the side wall of the nut and adjacent connection walls or the walls of the structure being held.
Tools capable of operating in such extreme restriction conditions are either too fragile to successfully operate in the building connections of the present invention, or they are incapable of meeting the torque requirements of threaded connections in the present building connections.